Sputtering target with backside cooling grooves

ABSTRACT

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to a sputtering target for a sputtering chamber used to process a substrate. In one implementation, a sputtering target for a sputtering chamber is provided. The sputtering target comprises a sputtering plate with a backside surface having radially inner, middle and outer regions and an annular-shaped backing plate mounted to the sputtering plate. The backside surface has a plurality of circular grooves which are spaced apart from one another and at least one arcuate channel cutting through the circular grooves and extending from the radially inner region to the radially outer region of sputtering plate. The annular-shaped backing plate defines an open annulus exposing the backside surface of the sputtering plate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/715,859, filed Sep. 26, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14,456/014, filed Aug. 11, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No.9,779,920, which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/866,006, filed Aug. 14, 2013. The aforementioned relatedpatent applications are herein incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND Field

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to a sputtering targetfor a sputtering chamber used to process a substrate.

Description of the Related Art

A sputtering chamber is used to sputter deposit material onto asubstrate in the fabrication of integrated circuits and displays.Typically, the sputtering chamber comprises an enclosure around asputtering target facing a substrate support, a process zone into whicha process gas is introduced, a gas energizer to energize the processgas, and an exhaust port to exhaust and control the pressure of theprocess gas in the chamber. The sputtering target is bombarded byenergetic ions formed in the energized gas causing material to beknocked off the sputtering target and deposited as a film on thesubstrate. The sputtered material can be a metal, such as for example,aluminum, copper, tungsten, titanium, cobalt, nickel or tantalum; or ametal compound, such as for example, tantalum nitride, tungsten nitrideor titanium nitride.

In certain sputtering processes, a magnetic field generator provides ashaped magnetic field about the sputtering surface of the sputteringtarget to improve sputtering properties and the sputtering surface ofthe sputtering target. For example, in magnetron sputtering, a set ofrotatable magnets rotate behind the sputtering targets to produce amagnetic field about the front surface of the sputtering target. Therotating magnetic field provides improved sputtering by controlling therate of sputtering across the sputtering target.

A cooling system passes heat transfer fluid through a housingsurrounding the rotatable magnets to cool the magnets and the underlyingsputtering target. However, conventional cooling systems often fail toremove sufficiently high levels of heat from the sputtering targetand/or fail to provide spatially uniform heat removal from thesputtering target. As a result, hotter regions of the sputtering targetare often sputtered at higher sputtering rates than adjacent regions,resulting in uneven sputtering across the surface of the sputteringtarget. Uneven target sputtering in combination with a rotating magneticfield can cause a sputtering target to develop a sputtering surfacehaving erosion grooves and microcracks that extend downward from theerosion grooves can also form. The localized microcracks, which occur atthe erosion grooves, can result in the ejection of sputtered particlesduring the sputtering process, which then deposit on the substrate toreduce yields. Sputtered particles that land on chamber components canalso flake off at a later time due to thermal stresses arising fromheating and cooling cycles.

Thus, it is desirable to have a sputtering target capable of being moreefficiently, and more uniformly, cooled by a target cooling system. Itis also desirable for the sputtering target to exhibit reduced localizedcracking from thermal stresses.

SUMMARY

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to a sputtering targetfor a sputtering chamber used to process a substrate. In oneimplementation, a sputtering target for a sputtering chamber isprovided. The sputtering target comprises a sputtering plate with abackside surface having radially inner, middle and outer regions and anannular-shaped backing plate mounted to the sputtering plate. Thebackside surface has a plurality of circular grooves, which are spacedapart from one another and at least one arcuate channel cutting throughthe circular grooves and extending from the radially inner region to theradially outer region of the sputtering plate. The annular-shapedbacking plate defines an open annulus exposing the backside surface ofthe sputtering plate.

In another implementation, a sputtering chamber is provided. Thesputtering chamber comprises a sputtering target mounted in thesputtering chamber, a substrate support facing the sputtering target, agas distributor to introduce a gas into the sputtering chamber, a gasenergizer to energize the gas to form a plasma to sputter the sputteringtarget and a gas exhaust port to exhaust gas from the sputteringchamber. The sputtering target comprises a sputtering plate with abackside surface having radially inner, middle and outer regions and anannular-shaped backing plate mounted to the sputtering plate, whereinthe annular-shaped backing plate defines an open annulus exposing thebackside surface of the sputtering plate. The backside surface has aplurality of circular grooves, which are spaced apart from one anotherand at least one arcuate channel cutting through the circular groovesand extending from the radially inner region to the radially outerregion of sputtering plate.

In yet another implementation, a magnetron sputtering target assembly isprovided. The magnetron sputtering target assembly comprises (a) a heatexchanger housing capable of holding heat transfer fluid about aplurality of rotatable magnets, (b) a sputtering target abutting thehousing such that the heat transfer fluid contacts a backside surface ofthe sputtering target, and (c) a sputtering plate mounted on the frontsurface of the backing plate. The sputtering target comprises a backingplate having the backside surface, the backside surface includingradially inner, middle and outer regions, wherein the radially middleregion has a plurality of concentric circular grooves located at thebackside surface and a plurality of concentric circular grooves locatedat the radially middle region of the backside surface, and a pluralityof arcuate channels extending from the radially inner region to theradially outer region of the backside surface. At least one of thebacking plate and the sputtering plate comprise a material selected fromAl0.5Cu, Al1.0Si, Al0.5Cu1.0Si, pure aluminum, copper, chrome, titanium,tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, tantalum, Li—P—O—N, germanium, GeS₂,silicon, SiO₂, quartz, combinations thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the presentdisclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description ofthe disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference toimplementations, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings.It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate onlytypical implementations of this disclosure and are therefore not to beconsidered limiting of its scope, for the disclosure may admit to otherequally effective implementations.

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of an implementation of a sputteringtarget comprising a sputtering plate mounted on a backing plate;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the back of the sputtering targetshowing a plurality of intersection circular grooves and arcuatechannels on the backside surface of the sputtering plate;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the front surface of the sputtering plate;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of an implementation of a sputteringtarget comprising a sputtering plate mounted on a backing plate;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the back of the backing plate of FIG. 4showing a plurality of intersection circular grooves and arcuatechannels on the backside surface of the backing plate; and

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional side view of a sputtering chambershowing a heat exchanger enclosing a rotating magnetic assembly and thebackside surface of a sputtering target.

To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have beenused, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common tothe figures. It is contemplated that elements disclosed in oneimplementation may be beneficially used in other implementations withoutspecific recitation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Implementations of the present disclosure relate to a sputtering targetfor a sputtering chamber used to process a substrate. Extraction ofprocess chamber heat from sputtering targets is crucial to avoid unevensputtering across the surface of the sputtering target. Normally,sputtering targets are cooled by having the backside (non-chamber side)exposed to cooling fluids (e.g., DI water) housed in the magnetroncavity. Given the spacing of the magnetron at ˜1 mm behind thesputtering target and with the magnetron spinning at ˜60 RPM (dependingon magnetron design) there may be only a thin layer of water in contactwith the backside of the sputtering target. This thin layer of water isbeing spun out centrifugally away from the center of the sputteringtarget, which leads to overheating of the center area of the sputteringtarget, which will degrade sputtered film performance. In someimplementations, grooves are added to the backside of the sputteringtarget to allow deeper water films to be present and to use thecentrifugal action of the magnetron to flush heated water out of thecenter to be replaced with cooler water.

Certain implementations described herein can also be applied torectangular or other shaped targets with groove profiles designed to beappropriate for those shapes. Certain implementations described hereinhave the advantage of greatly increased cooling for the active parts ofa sputter target. This increased cooling can then be utilized to allowfar larger power densities in the process chambers for improvements inproductivity, deposition rate, and deposition properties. Further, theimplementations described herein may be used to cool any thermallyconductive plate where heat is applied to one side and a coolant fluidis applied to the opposite side.

In certain implementations, the materials of both the backing plate andthe sputtering target deposition materials are different. In certainimplementations, the backing material of the sputtering material can beany appropriate metal such as aluminum and aluminum alloys (e.g., 6061,2024, 99.5% Al/0.5% Cu), copper, OFE copper, copper alloys(copper/chrome alloys, copper/zinc alloys, copper/tin alloys) or otherthermally conductive metals. In certain implementations, the backingplate may be flat or dished.

Other, exemplary materials for at least one of the backing plate and thesputtering plate comprise materials selected from Al0.5Cu (wt. %) alloy,Al1.0Si (wt. %) alloy, Al0.5Cu1.0Si (wt. %) alloy, pure aluminum,copper, chrome, titanium, tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, tantalum,Li—P—O—N, germanium, GeS₂, silicon, SiO₂, quartz, combinations thereofand alloys thereof.

An exemplary implementation of a sputtering target 100 that can be usedin a sputtering process chamber (e.g., process chamber 600) to depositsputtered material on a substrate (e.g., substrate 602) with reducederosion of grooves and microcracking, is shown in FIGS. 1 to 6.Referring to FIG. 1, in one implementation, the sputtering target 100comprises a backing plate 110 and a sputtering plate 120. The sputteringplate 120 and the backing plate 110 can be a monolith comprising asingle structure made from the same high-purity material and that servesas both a backing plate and a sputtering plate or they may be separatestructures that are bonded together to form a sputtering target.

The sputtering plate 120 comprises a central cylindrical mesa 130 thatserves as a sputtering surface 134, a backside surface 140 opposing thesputtering surface 134, a back surface 148 opposite the sputteringsurface 134, an outer peripheral wall 142 and an inner peripheral wall144. The outer peripheral wall 142 and the inner peripheral wall 144 maybe cylindrical and both may be inclined slightly. The outer peripheralwall 142 extends from the sputtering surface 134 to the back surface148. The inner peripheral wall 144 extends from the backside surface 140to the back surface 148. As shown in FIG. 1, a recess 146 is formedbetween the backside surface 140 and the inner peripheral wall 144. Therecess 146 exposes the backside surface 140 of the sputtering plate 120.

The sputtering surface 134 has a top plane 132 that is maintainedparallel to the plane of a substrate 602 during use of the sputteringtarget 100 in a chamber 600. The sputtering plate 120 is made from ametal or metal compound. For example, the sputtering plate 120 can becomposed of, for example, at least one of aluminum, copper, cobalt,nickel, tantalum, titanium, tungsten and alloys thereof. The sputteringplate 120 can also be a metal compound, such as for example, tantalumnitride, tungsten nitride or titanium nitride. In one implementation,the sputtering plate 120 comprises titanium at a high purity level, forexample, at least about 99.9%, or even at least about 99.99%. Additionalmetal and metal compounds for the sputtering plate 120 are disclosed inTable I.

In one implementation, the sputtering target 100 comprises the backsidesurface 140 that opposes the sputtering surface 134, and which has apattern of circular grooves 150 (or 150 a and 150 b) and intersectingarcuate channels 154 (or 154 a and 154 b). The circular grooves 150 mayextend from a radially inner region 122 of the sputtering plate 120 to aradially outer region 124 of the sputtering plate 120. The circulargrooves 150 may be positioned in a radially middle region 126 formedbetween the radially inner region 122 and the radially outer region 124.The circular grooves 150 may have a radiused cross-section. Theintersecting arcuate channels 154 cut through the circular grooves 150at angles ranging from 60 to 90 degrees relative to the localizedhorizontal tangent to the circular groove 150 at the point ofintersection. In some implementations, the arcuate channels 154 arespaced apart from one another by an angle of from about 30 to about 90degrees as measured from the center of the backside surface of thesputtering plate 120. The intersecting arcuate channels 154 break up thecontinuous trench structure of the circular grooves 150 to allow heattransfer fluid to circulate between the circular grooves 150 at theintersection points. The intersecting arcuate channels 154 have beenfound to significantly reduce stagnation of fluid within the continuoustrench structures of the circular grooves 150. Unexpectedly andsurprisingly, the combination of the circular grooves 150 andintersecting arcuate channels 154 on the backside surface of the backingplate 110 were also found to substantially reduce the number ofparticles that deposit on a particular substrate during a sputteringprocess. The arcuate channels 154 may have a radiused cross-section.

In some implementations, linear channels may be used in place of arcuatechannels 154. The linear channels may be spaced apart from one anotherby an angle of from about 30 to about 90 degrees as measured from thecenter of the backside surface of the sputtering plate 120. The linearchannels may cut through the circular grooves 150 at angles ranging from60 to 90 degrees relative to the localized horizontal tangent to thecircular grooves 150 at each point of intersection. The linear channelsmay have the same angle as the mean of the arcuate channels 154.

It is believed that the reduction in particulate contamination from thesputtering target results from the effect of the intersecting groovesand arcuate channels 150, 154 on the fluid dynamics of the heat transferfluid in the circular grooves 150 of the backside surface 140 of thesputtering target 100. Generally, the heat transfer fluid at the bottomand nearest the walls of the circular grooves 150 moves more slowly thanthe bulk of the fluid because of friction between the fluid and thesurface. This frictional effect can create a stagnant layer of hot fluidat the bottom of the circular grooves 150 on the backside surface 140that reduces circulation of heat transfer fluid through the grooves. Onbacking plates that do not have intersecting grooves and arcuatechannels, the stagnant layer of fluid remains trapped in the circulargrooves 150 without exposure to excessive amounts of turbulence.Moreover, the heat transfer fluid is typically circulated by a magnetassembly that rotates about a central axis in the housing, whichincreases the laminar flow of fluid through the circular grooves 150,further contributing to entrapping hot fluid within the circular grooves150. It is believed that the intersecting grooves 150 and arcuatechannels 154 break up the circular grooves 150 into shorter segments andprovide corners at the intersections, about which the fluid flow isturbulent. This turbulence stirs the stagnant layer at the bottom of thecircular grooves 150 to force this fluid out of the groove and allowfresh, unheated fluid to enter the groove. The quicker movingcirculating fluid is believed to considerably reduce the thickness andinsulating effect of the slow moving stagnant layer, thereby increasingthe heat transfer between the sputtering plate 120 and the heat transferfluid.

The circular grooves 150 and arcuate channels 154 also provide anincrease in total surface area of the backside surface 140 of thesputtering plate 120. The grooved backside surface 140 can have asurface area that is from 50% to 120% greater than the surface area of aplanar backside surface of a sputtering plate of similar dimensions. Forexample, if the surface area of the planar backside of a conventionalsputtering plate is “A” cm², the area of the grooved sputtering plate120 will be 1.5 A to 2.2 A.

In one implementation, as shown in FIG. 2, the circular grooves 150 arespaced apart and concentric to one another. In one implementation, thenumber of circular grooves ranges from about 2 grooves to about 50grooves. In another implementation, the number of circular groovesranges from about 10 circular grooves to about 40 circular grooves. Inanother implementation, the number of circular grooves ranges from about20 circular grooves to about 30 circular grooves. In anotherimplementation, the number of grooves is about 20. In anotherimplementation, the number of grooves is about 30. Those skilled in theart will realize that the number of grooves can vary depending on thefluid used and the specific application.

Each circular groove 150 comprises a Δr (distance between the outerradius of a particular circular groove 150 and its inner radius) rangingfrom about 2 mm to about 10 mm. In one example, Δr is about 6 mm. Thecircular ridges 152 between the circular grooves 150 have a widthranging from about 2 mm to about 10 mm. In one example, the circularridges 152 between the circular grooves 150 have a width of about 6 mm.FIG. 2 shows the backside surface 140 having ten circular grooves 150,which are concentric and annular with eight intervening circular ridges152.

The distribution of the circular grooves 150 and circular ridges 152 isselected to overlap with the rotational track of the rotating magnetassembly, such that the region over which the magnet rotates is almostentirely covered with circular grooves 150 and circular ridges 152. Inone implementation, the circular grooves 150 are spread across an areaof at least about 50% of the area of the backside surface 140, or evenat least 75% of the backside surface 140, to maximize the effect of thecircular grooves 150. The higher coverage area of the circular grooves150, as compared to previous designs, serve to cooperatively dissipateadditional heat from the backside surface 140 causing the wholesputtering target 100 to operate at cooler temperatures during sputterprocessing.

In one implementation, the circular grooves 150 comprise an innermostradially inner circular groove 150 a and an outermost radially outercircular groove 150 b, with a plurality of circular grooves 150distributed between the inner and outer circular grooves 150 a, 150 b.The inner diameter of the inner circular groove 150 a is selected inrelation to the diameter of the shaft of the rotating magnet assemblyand can even be the same diameter as the magnet assembly shaft. Theinner circular groove 150 a is situated directly under the shaft, andthe radius of the outer circular groove 150 b is selected in relation tothe maximum radius of rotation of the magnet assembly about the rotationshaft. For example, the radius of the outer circular groove 150 b can beselected to be substantially the same as the maximum radius of rotationof the magnet assembly about the rotation shaft. This grooved surfaceprovides an increased cooling surface area in the region correspondingboth to the circulated fluid and to the regions of the sputteringsurface 134 that have magnetically enhanced sputtering and may have theneed for further temperature control.

The arcuate channels 154 intersect the circular grooves 150 by cuttingthrough the plurality of circular ridges 152 of the circular grooves150. The arcuate channels 154 serve as drainage channels, which preventstagnation of heat transfer fluid within the circular grooves 150 tosubstantially improve heat transfer from the pattern of intersectingcircular grooves and arcuate channels 150, 154, respectively. Thearcuate channels 154 comprise arcs, which are curved and extendprimarily along the radial direction. The arcuate channels 154 arespaced apart from one another by a distance that varies across theradial direction, with a larger gap near the periphery of the backsidesurface 140 and a smaller distance closer to the center of the backsidesurface 140. In one implementation, as shown FIG. 2, the shape of eacharcuate channel can be approximated by the polar equation:

r=arcsin(θ) for 0<θ<π/3.

In one implementation, the arcuate channels 154 are curved to be convexshaped relative to the direction of the rotating magnets in the chamber600, as shown by the arrow 659 in FIG. 6. The shaped arcuate channels154 prevent stagnation of heat transfer fluid within the circulargrooves 150 by allowing heated fluid to escape from the circular grooves150. The arcuate shape in this direction encourages laminar flow of thefluid through and from the circular grooves 150.

The arcuate channels 154 also can have a curved tip region 156 thattapers upward to the backside surface 140 of the backing plate 110, asshown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The curved tip region 156 begins at about theradius of the outer circular groove 150 b. The tapered tip is preferableover a stepwise tip because the tapered tip allows for a more laminarflow of fluid out of the ends of the arcuate channels 154.

The circular grooves 150 and arcuate channels 154 can be formed bymachining the backing plate 110, for example, cutting by a lathe ormilling. The corners of the circular grooves 150 and resultant circularridges 152 can also be rounded in the machining process, to reduceerosion and stress concentration at the corners.

The grooved sputtering target may be manufactured using a CNC millingand/or lathe machine. Once a target blank is formed ball end millingcutters (for the milling machine) or radiused or single point lathecutters, and then a ball end mill (multi head lathe or mill) may be usedto form the grooves. The circular grooves can be formed on a lathe, thespiral or arcuate channels may then be cut using a milling system or amulti-head lathe. On a standard CNC milling system all grooves can becut using a ball end mill trepanning the circles and arcs. The groovesare typically cut to a sufficient depth to facilitate adequate coolingof the sputtering target without being so deep as to reduce thestructural rigidity of the sputtering target when under processconditions. For a 200 mm aluminum target, for example, the grooves canbe on the order of 0.25″. For other target diameters and materials thegroove size may be adjusted accordingly. For round targets circulargrooves may be used because circular grooves are easy to manufacture anddo not lead to uneven flexure of the sputtering target under vacuumloading. After, the spiral-arcuate-grooves may be added to facilitatecenter to edge water extraction aided by the spinning magnetron.

In one implementation, the sputtering plate 120 is mounted on thebacking plate 110, which is a separate structure. The backing plate 110has an annular-shaped body defined by a front surface 160, an innerperipheral wall 114 and an annular flange 162. The annular-shaped body112 defines an open annulus 116. The annular-shaped body 112 istypically sized to surround the backside surface 140 of the sputteringplate 120 and expose the backside surface 140 via the open annulus 116.The front surface 160 supports the sputtering plate 120. The annularflange 162 extends beyond the radius of the sputtering plate 120. Theannular flange 162 comprises a peripheral circular surface and has outerfooting 164 that rests on an isolator 658 in the chamber 600, as shownin FIG. 6. The isolator 658 electrically isolates and separates thebacking plate 110 from the chamber 600, and is typically a ring madefrom a ceramic material, such as aluminum oxide.

An exemplary backing plate 110 is made from a metal alloy comprisingcopper-chrome. The resistivity of copper-chrome does not change untilits temperatures exceed 600 degrees Celsius, which is sufficiently highto exceed normal sputtering process temperatures. In one implementation,the copper-chrome alloy comprises a ratio of copper to chrome of fromabout 80:1 to about 165:1. The copper-chrome alloy may comprise copperin a wt. % of from about 98.5 to about 99.1 wt. %, and chrome in a wt. %of from about 0.6 to about 1.2 wt. %. The copper-chrome alloy has athermal conductivity of about 340 W/mK and an electrical resistivity ofabout 2.2-μohm cm. In some implementations, the backing plate 110 may bemade from the materials disclosed in Table I.

Backing plates 110, 410 may be composed of the backing plate materialsdisclosed in Table I. Sputtering plates 120, 420 may be composed of thedeposition materials disclosed in Table I. The backing plates 110, 410and sputtering plates 120, 420 may be monolithic or bonded as depictedin the third column of Table I. Bonding of the backing plate to thesputtering plate may be performed by, for example, welding, diffusionbonding, soldering, brazing or forge bonding. The notation Al0.5Cu (wt.%) alloy indicates that the alloy includes 0.5 wt. % copper. As usedherein, the term copper includes oxygen-free copper (e.g.,C10100-Oxygen-Free Electronic (OFE)-99.99% pure copper with 0.0005%oxygen content, C10200-Oxygen-Free (OF), andC11000-Electrolytic-Tough-Pitch (ETP)).

TABLE I Monolithic/ Backing Plate Materials Deposition Materials BondedPure Aluminum Pure Aluminum Monolithic Al0.5Cu (wt. %) alloy Al0.5Cu(wt. %) alloy Monolithic Al1.0Si (wt. %) alloy Al1.0Si (wt. %) alloyMonolithic Al0.5Cu1.0Si (wt. %) alloy Al0.5Cu1.0Si (wt. %) alloyMonolithic 6061 Aluminum Alloy Pure Aluminum Bonded 6061 Aluminum AlloyAl0.5Cu (wt. %) alloy Bonded 6061 Aluminum Alloy Al1.0Si Bonded 6061Aluminum Alloy Al0.5Cu1.0Si (wt. %) alloy Bonded Copper or copper chromeTitanium Bonded Copper or copper chrome Tungsten Bonded Copper or copperchrome Molybdenum Bonded Copper or copper chrome Cobalt Bonded Copper orcopper chrome Tantalum Bonded Copper or copper chrome Li—P—O—N BondedCopper or copper chrome Germanium Bonded Copper or copper chrome GeS₂Bonded Copper or copper chrome Silicon Bonded Copper or copper chromeSiO₂ Bonded Copper or copper chrome Quartz Bonded

The backing plate 110 is typically made from a material selected to havea high thermal conductivity and to circulate a heat transfer fluidtherein. A suitably high thermal conductivity of the backing plate 110is at least about 200 W/mK, for example, from about 220 to about 400W/mK. Such thermal conductivity levels allow the sputtering target 100to be operated for longer process time periods by efficientlydissipating the heat generated in the sputtering target 100. In oneimplementation, the backing plate 110 is made from a metal, such ascopper or aluminum. In another implementation, the backing plate 110comprises a metal alloy, such as for example copper-zinc (naval brass),or chromium-copper alloy. In one exemplary implementation, the backingplate 110 comprises C18000, which is an alloy having component weightsof Cr (0.8%), Cu (96.1%), Ni (2.5%) and Si (0.6%). The backing plate 110can also be a separate structure containing one or more bonded plates.

The backing plate 110 can also have an electrical resistivity that is ina desirable range to reduce erosion grooving while still allowingoperation of the sputtering target 100 for an extended time period. Theelectrical resistivity should be sufficiently low to allow thesputtering target 100 to be electrically biased or charged duringsputtering. However, the electrical resistivity should also besufficiently high to reduce the effect of eddy currents in thesputtering target 100, as the heat generated by the eddy current as ittravels along a pathway through the sputtering target 100 isproportional to the electrical resistance encountered along the pathway.In one implementation, the electrical resistivity of the backing plate110 is from about 2 to about 5-μohm cm or even from about 2.2 to about4.1 μohm cm.

In one implementation, the sputtering plate 120 is mounted on the frontsurface 160 of the backing plate 110 by diffusion bonding by placing thebacking plate 110 and the sputtering target 120 on each other andheating the plates to a suitable temperature, typically at least about200 degrees Celsius. Other exemplary methods for coupling the backingplate 110 to the sputtering target include soldering, vacuum or hydrogenbrazing, diffusion bonding and forge bonding.

In one implementation, the sputtering surface 134 of the sputteringplate 120 is profiled to reduce flaking of process deposits as shown inFIGS. 2 and 5. In an exemplary implementation, the outer peripheral wall142 forms a peripheral inclined rim 170 that surrounds the top plane 132of the central cylindrical mesa 130. The inclined rim 170 is inclinedrelative to a plane perpendicular to the top plane 132 of the centralcylindrical mesa 130 by an angle a of at least about 8 degrees (e.g.,from about 10 degrees to about 20 degrees; about 15 degrees).

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of another implementation of asputtering target 400 that may comprise the materials described in TableI. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the back of the backing plate of FIG.4 showing a plurality of intersection circular grooves and arcuatechannels on the backside surface 440 of the backing plate 410. Thesputtering target 400 comprises a sputtering plate 420 mounted on abacking plate 410. Unlike sputtering target 100, the backing plate 410is a solid backing plate including a plurality of intersecting circulargrooves 450 (450 a and 450 b) and arcuate channels 454 on the backsidesurface of the backing plate. In some implementations, the backing plate410 may be replaced by a flat backing plate that has a flat surface(e.g. does not contain the circular grooves and arcuate channels shownin FIGS. 4 and 5).

The sputtering plate 420 and backing plate 410 can be a monolithcomprising a single structure made from the same high-purity materialand that serves as both a backing plate and a sputtering plate or theymay be separate structures that are bonded together to form a sputteringtarget. The sputtering plate 420 comprises a central cylindrical mesa430 that serves as a sputtering surface 434, and which has a top plane432 that is maintained parallel to the plane of a substrate during useof the sputtering target 400 in a chamber (e.g., chamber 600). Thesputtering plate 420 is made from a metal or metal compound. Forexample, the sputtering plate 420 can be composed of any of thematerials identified in Table I.

In one implementation, the sputtering plate 420 is mounted on a backingplate 410 which is a separate structure and which has a front surface438 to support the sputtering plate 420 and an annular flange 436 thatextends beyond the radius of the sputtering plate 420. The annularflange 436 comprises a peripheral circular surface and has outer footing442 that rests on an isolator 658 in the chamber 600, as shown in FIG.6. The isolator 658 electrically isolates and separates the backingplate 410 from the chamber 600, and is typically a ring made from aceramic material, such as aluminum oxide.

An exemplary implementation of a sputtering process chamber 600 capableof processing a substrate 602 using the sputtering target 100 is shownin FIG. 6. The chamber 600 comprises enclosure walls 604 that enclose aplasma zone 606 and include sidewalls 608, a bottom wall 610, and aceiling 612. The chamber 600 can be a part of a multi-chamber platform(not shown) having a cluster of interconnected chambers connected by arobot arm mechanism that transfers substrates 602 between the chamber.In the implementation shown, the process chamber 600 comprises asputtering chamber, also called a physical vapor deposition or PVDchamber, which is capable of sputter depositing titanium on a substrate602. However, the chamber 600 can also be used for other purposes, suchas for example, to deposit aluminum, copper, tantalum, tantalum nitride,titanium nitride, tungsten or tungsten nitride; thus, the present claimsshould not be limited to the exemplary implementations described hereinto illustrate the disclosure.

In one implementation, the chamber 600 is equipped with a process kit toadapt the chamber 600 for different processes. The process kit comprisesvarious components that can be removed from the chamber 600, forexample, to clean sputtering deposits off the component surfaces,replace or repair eroded components. In one implementation, the processkit comprises a ring assembly 614 for placement about a peripheral wallof the substrate support 620 that terminates before an overhanging edgeof the substrate 602, as shown in FIG. 6. The ring assembly 614comprises a deposition ring 616 and a cover ring 618 that cooperate withone another to reduce formation of sputter deposits on the peripheralwalls of the substrate support 620 or the overhanging edge of thesubstrate 602.

The process kit can also include a shield assembly 624 that encirclesthe sputtering surface 134 of the sputtering target 100 and theperipheral edge of the substrate support 620, as shown in FIG. 6, toreduce deposition of sputtering deposits on the sidewalls 608 of thechamber 600 and the lower portions of the substrate support 620. Asshown in FIG. 6, shield assembly 624 comprises an upper shield 626 and alower shield 628. Portions of the shield assembly 624, such as forexample the upper shield 626, can be biased during substrate processingin order to affect the chamber environment. The shield assembly 624reduces deposition of sputtering material on the surfaces of thesubstrate support 620, sidewalls 608 and bottom wall 610 of the chamber600, by shadowing these surfaces.

The process chamber 600 comprises a substrate support 620 to support thesubstrate 602, which comprises a pedestal 630. The pedestal 630 has asubstrate receiving surface 632 that receives and supports the substrate602 during processing, the substrate receiving surface 632 having aplane substantially parallel to the sputtering surface 134 of theoverhead sputtering target 100. The substrate support 620 can alsoinclude an electrostatic chuck 634 to electrostatically hold thesubstrate 602 and/or a heater (not shown), such as an electricalresistance heater or heat exchanger. In operation, a substrate 602 isintroduced into the chamber 600 through a substrate loading inlet (notshown) in the sidewall 608 of the chamber 600 and placed on thesubstrate support 620. The substrate support 620 can be lifted orlowered to lift and lower the substrate 602 onto the substrate support620 during placement of a substrate 602 on the substrate support 620.The pedestal 630 can be maintained at an electrically floating potentialor grounded during plasma operation.

During a sputtering process, the sputtering target 100, the substratesupport 620, and upper shield 626 are electrically biased relative toone another by a power supply 636. The sputtering target 100, the uppershield 626, the substrate support 620, and other chamber componentsconnected to the power supply 636 of the sputtering target operate as agas energizer to form or sustain a plasma of the sputtering gas. The gasenergizer can also include a source coil (not shown) that is powered bythe application of a current through the coil. The plasma formed in theplasma zone 606 energetically impinges upon and bombards the sputteringsurface 134 of the sputtering target 100 to sputter material off thesputtering surface 134 onto the substrate 602.

The sputtering gas is introduced into the chamber 600 through a gasdelivery system 638 that provides gas from a process gas source 640 viaconduits 622 having gas flow control valves 644, such as a mass flowcontrollers, to pass a set flow rate of the gas therethrough. The gasesare fed to a mixing manifold (also not shown) in which the gases aremixed to form a process gas composition and fed to a gas distributor 646having gas outlets in the chamber 600. The process gas source 640 maycomprise a non-reactive gas, such as argon or xenon, which is capable ofenergetically impinging upon and sputtering material from a target. Theprocess gas source 640 may also include a reactive gas, such as one ormore of an oxygen-containing gas and a nitrogen-containing gas, that arecapable of reacting with the sputtered material to form a layer on thesubstrate 602. Spent process gas and byproducts are exhausted from thechamber 600 through an exhaust 648, which includes exhaust ports 650that receive spent process gas and pass the spent gas to an exhaustconduit 652 having a throttle valve 654 to control the pressure of thegas in the chamber 600. The exhaust conduit 652 is connected to one ormore exhaust pumps 656. Typically, the pressure of the sputtering gas inthe chamber 600 is set to sub-atmospheric levels, such as a vacuumenvironment, for example, gas pressures of 1 mTorr to 400 mTorr.

The chamber 600 can also include a heat exchanger comprising a housing660 capable of holding a heat transfer fluid which is mounted abuttingthe backside surface 140 of the sputtering target 100. The housing 660comprises walls, which are sealed about the backside surface 140 of thesputtering target 100. The housing 660 can be made from an insulatingmedium, such as fiberglass. A heat transfer fluid, such as chilleddeionized water, is introduced into the housing 660 though an inlet andis removed from the housing 660 through an outlet (not shown). The heatexchanger serves to maintain the sputtering target 100 at lowertemperatures to further reduce the possibility of forming erosiongrooves and microcracks in the sputtering target 100.

The chamber can also include a magnetic field generator 680 comprising aplurality of rotatable magnets. In one implementation, as shown in FIG.6, the magnetic field generator 680 comprises two sets of rotatablemagnets 662, 664 that are mounted on a common plate 666 and capable ofrotating about a central axis in back of the sputtering target 100.

The first set of rotatable magnets 662 comprises one or more centralmagnets 670 having a first magnetic flux or magnetic field orientation,and one or more peripheral magnets 672 having a second magnetic flux ormagnetic field orientation. In one implementation, the ratio of thefirst magnetic flux to the second magnetic flux is at least about 1:2,for example, from about 1:3 to about 1:8, or even about 1:5. This allowsthe magnetic field from the peripheral magnets 672 to extend deeper intothe chamber 600 towards the substrate 602. In one example, the first setof rotatable magnets 662 comprises a set of central magnets 670 having afirst magnetic field orientation, surrounded by a set of peripheralmagnets 672 having a second magnetic field orientation. For example, thesecond magnetic field orientation can be generated by positioning theperipheral magnets 672 so that their polarity direction is opposite tothe polarity direction of the central magnets 670.

The implementation of FIG. 6 shows a second, larger set of rotatablemagnets 664. The second set of rotatable magnets 664 comprises a centralmagnet 674 having a first magnetic flux or magnetic field orientation,and a peripheral magnet 676 with a second magnetic flux or magneticfield orientation. In one implementation, the ratio of the firstmagnetic flux to the second magnetic flux is about 1:1.

The magnetic field generator 680 comprises a motor 682 and axle 684 torotate the common plate 666 on which the sets of rotatable magnets 662,664 are mounted. The rotation system rotates the sets of rotatablemagnets 662, 664 at from about 60 to about 120 rpm, for example, about80 to about 100 rpm. In one implementation, the sets of rotatablemagnets 662, 664 comprise NdFeB. The first set of rotatable magnets 662is used to scan the edge of the sputtering target 100 to produce ahighly ionized sputter flux. The second set of rotatable magnets 664 canbe used to produce a flux of ion bombardment about the central andperipheral regions of the sputtering target 100. The larger, or secondset of rotatable magnets 664 can be switched on to clean sputtermaterial redeposited on the sputtering target center and about theperiphery. In addition to providing a rotating and changing magneticfield about the sputtering surface 134, the magnetic field generator 680and sets of rotatable magnets 662, 664 push and stir the heat transferfluid, thereby circulating a heat transfer fluid in the housing 660.

To counteract the large amount of power delivered to the sputteringtarget 100, the back of the sputtering target 100 may be sealed to abackside coolant chamber. The backside coolant chamber can be separatefrom the housing 660, or the coolant chamber and housing 660 can be asingle integrated chamber as shown in FIG. 6. Heat transfer fluid 690comprising, for example, chilled deionized water or other coolingliquid, is circulated through the interior of the coolant chamber tocool the sputtering target 100. The magnetic field generator 680 istypically immersed in the heat transfer fluid 690, and the axle 684passes through the backside chamber through a rotary seal 686.

The chamber 600 is controlled by a controller 692 that comprises programcode having instruction sets to operate components of the chamber 600 toprocess substrates 602 in the chamber 600. For example, the controller692 can comprise program code that includes a substrate positioninginstruction set to operate the substrate support 620 and substratetransport; a gas flow control instruction set to operate gas flowcontrol valves 644 to set a flow of sputtering gas to the chamber 600; agas pressure control instruction set to operate the throttle valve 654to maintain a pressure in the chamber 600; a gas energizer controlinstruction set to operate the gas energizer to set a gas energizingpower level; a temperature control instruction set to control atemperature control system (not shown) in the pedestal 630 or wall 608to set temperatures of the substrate 602 or walls 608, respectively; anda process monitoring instruction set to monitor the process in thechamber 600.

The sputtering process can be used to deposit a layer comprisingtitanium or a titanium compound on a substrate. The titanium layers canbe used by themselves, or in combination with other layers. For example,a sputtered titanium layer can be used as a barrier layer, e.g., Ti/TiNstacked layers are often used as liner barrier layers and to providecontacts to the source and drain of a transistor. In another example, atitanium layer is deposited on a silicon wafer and portions of thetitanium layer in contact with the silicon are converted to titaniumsilicide layers by annealing. In another configuration, the diffusionbarrier layer below a metal conductor, includes a titanium oxide layerformed by sputter depositing titanium on the substrate 602 and thentransferring the substrate to an oxidizing chamber to oxidize thetitanium by heating it in an oxygen environment to form titanium oxide.Titanium oxide can also be deposited by introducing oxygen gas into thechamber while titanium is being sputtered. Titanium nitride can bedeposited by reactive sputtering methods by introducing a nitrogencontaining gas into the chamber while sputtering titanium.

The present disclosure has been described with reference to certainpreferred implementations thereof; however, other implementations arepossible. For example, the sputtering plate 120 and backing plate 110 ofthe sputtering target 100 can be made from materials other than thosedescribed herein, and can also have other shapes and sizes. Therefore,the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to thedescription of the preferred implementations contained herein.

While the foregoing is directed to implementations of the presentdisclosure, other and further implementations of the disclosure may bedevised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scopethereof is determined by the claims that follow.

1. A sputtering target for a sputtering chamber, the sputtering targetcomprising: a sputtering plate with a backside surface having radiallyinner, middle and outer regions, the backside surface having: aplurality of circular grooves which are spaced apart from one another;and at least one arcuate channel cutting through the circular groovesand extending from the radially inner region to the radially outerregion of the sputtering plate; and an annular-shaped backing platemounted to the sputtering plate, wherein the annular-shaped backingplate defines an open annulus exposing the backside surface of thesputtering plate.
 2. The sputtering target of claim 1, wherein thecircular grooves are concentric grooves.
 3. The sputtering target ofclaim 2, wherein the circular grooves comprises from about 20 to about30 grooves.
 4. The sputtering target of claim 1, wherein all of thecircular grooves are located at the radially middle region of thebackside surface.
 5. The sputtering target of claim 1, wherein thebackside surface has at least 8 arcuate channels.
 6. The sputteringtarget of claim 5, wherein the arcuate channels are spaced apart fromone another by an angle of from about 30 to about 90 degrees as measuredfrom the center of the backside surface.
 7. The sputtering target ofclaim 1, wherein the backing plate comprises an alloy of copper andchrome.
 8. The sputtering target of claim 1, wherein the backing platecomprises a material selected from Al_(0.5)Cu, Al_(1.0)Si,Al_(0.5)Cu_(1.0)Si, pure aluminum, copper, chrome, titanium, tungsten,molybdenum, cobalt, tantalum, Li—P—O—N, germanium, GeS₂, silicon, SiO₂,quartz, and combinations thereof.
 9. The sputtering target of claim 8wherein the sputtering plate is composed of titanium or titaniumnitride.
 10. The sputtering target of claim 1, further comprising a heatexchanger housing capable of holding a heat transfer fluid about thebackside surface of the sputtering plate, and a plurality of rotatablemagnets within the housing.
 11. A sputtering chamber, comprising: asputtering target mounted in the sputtering chamber, comprising: asputtering plate with a backside surface having radially inner, middleand outer regions, the backside surface having: a plurality of circulargrooves which are spaced apart from one another; and at least onearcuate channel cutting through the circular grooves and extending fromthe radially inner region to the radially outer region of sputteringplate; a substrate support facing the sputtering target; a gasdistributor to introduce a gas into the sputtering chamber; a gasenergizer to energize the gas to form a plasma to sputter the sputteringtarget; and a gas exhaust port to exhaust gas from the sputteringchamber.
 12. The sputtering chamber of claim 11, wherein the circulargrooves are concentric grooves.
 13. The sputtering chamber of claim 12wherein all the circular grooves are located at the radially middleregion of the backside surface.
 14. The sputtering chamber of claim 11wherein the backside surface has at least about 8 arcuate channels. 15.The sputtering chamber of claim 11 wherein the arcuate channels arespaced apart from one another by an angle of from about 30 to about 90degrees as measured from the center of the backside surface.
 16. Amagnetron sputtering target assembly for a sputtering chamber, thesputtering target assembly comprising: (a) a heat exchanger housingcapable of holding heat transfer fluid about a plurality of rotatablemagnets; (b) a sputtering target abutting the housing such that the heattransfer fluid contacts a backside surface of the sputtering target, thesputtering target comprising a backing plate having the backsidesurface, the backside surface including: (i) radially inner, middle andouter regions, wherein the radially middle region has a plurality ofconcentric circular grooves located at the backside surface, and (ii) aplurality of arcuate channels extending from the radially inner regionto the radially outer region of the backside surface; and (c) asputtering plate mounted on the front surface of the backing platewherein at least one of the backing plate and the sputtering platecomprise a material selected from Al0.5Cu, Al1.0Si, Al0.5Cu1.0Si, purealuminum, copper, chrome, titanium, tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt,tantalum, Li—P—O—N, germanium, GeS₂, silicon, SiO₂, quartz, combinationsthereof and alloys thereof.
 17. The magnetron sputtering target assemblyof claim 16 wherein the circular grooves are from about 20 to about 30grooves and wherein the backside surface has at least about 8 arcuatechannels.
 18. The magnetron sputtering target assembly of 17, whereinthe at least one arcuate channel comprises at least about 8 channelswhich are spaced apart from one another by an angle of from about 30 toabout 90 degrees as measured from the center of the backside surface.19. The magnetron sputtering target assembly of 16, wherein the backingplate comprises an alloy of copper and chrome and the sputtering plateis composed of titanium or titanium nitride.
 20. The magnetronsputtering target assembly of 17, wherein the circular grooves areconcentric grooves.